The Federal Trade Commission will not challenge Amazon’s acquisition of MGM Studios after the agency’s commissioners split on bringing a suit, three people familiar with the situation said.

The decision not to sue — without even a vote on the issue — is a major setback for the antitrust agenda of FTC Chair Lina Khan, an Amazon critic who had been urged by fellow anti-monopolists to block the online giant from buying the storied film and television studio.

And it may not be the last such frustration: Khan has lacked a Democratic majority on the five-person commission since October, and solid GOP opposition in the Senate has blocked confirmation of President Joe Biden’s nominee to fill the FTC’s vacant seat.

Amazon announced Thursday morning that it had closed the MGM deal without mentioning the FTC’s review, which had been ongoing since last May.

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Try, try again? The FTC’s inaction on the deal does not preclude the agency from trying again later, especially if the Senate eventually confirms Democrat Alvaro Bedoya, Biden’s nominee to fill the commission’s vacant fifth slot. The Senate Commerce Committee has deadlocked on Bedoya in two 14-14 votes, amid Republican complaints about his social media posts on issues such as Trump administration immigration policies.

The agency’s Democrats could push to reconsider the MGM deal if Bedoya wins confirmation — a possibility that the anti-monopoly group American Economic Liberties Project highlighted in its public comments.